"When I speak to the people, sometimes it's gentle and sometimes it's just honest. A lot of times during the show, I've said no and the other three said yes and I was surprised," she told the trade newspaper.

When asked how she views her role on the panel, she replied: "I'm like a kindred spirit to Paula. She was my idol growing up and a lot of what she says is the sheer truth. Our minds, hearts and spirits gravitate towards the same feedback, but we have different ways of expressing it.

"Sometimes, I'm goofy and sometimes I'm more emotional. I just try to be myself and speak from my personal experience."

In a separate interview with Piers Morgan Tonight on CNN, the 'Poison' singer admitted to being "obsessed" with Abdul as a child, saying: "Growing up I loved Paula, I was kind of obsessed with Paula. I had Paula Abdul wallpaper and Paula Abdul gowns and everything."

"What was interesting is that Paula [Abdul] can be a bit wacky at times but Nicole actually wasn't far behind in a fantastically self-centred way that she wasn't aware of which I found really amusing," he said.

"There was part of the auditions where every city we went to - and Nicole wasn't aware of this - she changed her accent. When she was in New York she had this Brooklyn thing going on, when she went to Dallas she became the Southern belle."